Well it seems that all of you paranoids who have been listening
for the black helicopters were just wasting your time. This week, the Associated Press (AP) reported
the FBI has deployed an air force of what would typically be described as
general aviation (as opposed to commercial) airplanes for the purposes of
criminal investigations and intelligence gathering. So while you were listening for the whisper
of suppressed helicopter rotors, you should have been looking for red and white
Cessnas! Hiding in “plane” sight?
A spokesman (agency not delineated) declared in a statement
to AP that “The FBI’s aviation program is not secret.” (Of course not, if it had been secret we’d have heard about it by now!)
But the planes are all registered to shill companies set up by the feds to “protect
the aircraft and their capabilities for operational security purposes.” Hmm!
According to the article, the planes’ surveillance equipment
is generally used without a judge’s
approval and the flights are used for specific, ongoing investigations. The spokesman stated that the FBI planes are
not equipped… for bulk collection or mass surveillance activities. Some of the
aircraft can be (well, are they?)
equipped with technology that can identify people on the ground through the
cell phones they carry, even when not making a call. Officials said that
practice, which mimics cell towers, is rare.
AP reports that since at least 2003 this program might be the basis for reports
of suspicious-looking planes slowly orbiting neighborhoods.
If you’re interested in more details, my source was:
Sometimes, I think the grid is becoming too much like a
spider’s web!
Sorry for the short offering this week, but I just can’t
spend any more time thinking about this.
Now where did I leave my aluminum-foil hat?
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